A blog devoted to the Tommy Thunder and The Aether Age pulp fiction series. It's Dieselpunk fiction at its pulpiest with two-fisted brawls, biplane dogfights, mysterious safaris, Prohibition gin-running and swanky art-deco speakeasy hopping as far as the eye can see.

Tommy Thunder, Scourge of the Skypirates is the title for the upcoming story series I'm writing in the style of the old pulp magazine tales. I'll talk more about pulp in a later post but if you want a clear example of the genre it's definitely Indiana Jones. George Lucas based the Indiana Jones series (as well as Star Wars) on the old movie serials of the 1930s and 40s which screened before cinema 'A' features. Each new week a new chapter would be played so that regular cinema patrons could follow the daring exploits and thrilling action of their favourite action/adventure hero until the incredible cliffhanger that would have you on the edge of your seat to find out what happened next week. They're brilliant, and as a lover of these old-style adventure romps my aim is to write in a style that packs as much punch (and endearingly useless punches) as those fun movie serials did (but without having to wait a full week to see what happens after the cliffhanger).

Undersea Kingdom. Movie serial. One of the best.

And to lead us on these crazy adventures we'll be following the title's namesake, Tommy Thunder. Tommy is an aspiring skypirate hunter in a world where there is certainly no lack of skypirates. Whether they're raiding zeppelin cargo lanes or fighting each other in the air, skypirates are everywhere in the Aether Age. Law and order is quickly returning to Old West levels (especially in the parts of America that were the Old West) and, thanks to the new aeronautical wizardry developed during the Great War, that failure of law and order is quickly spreading throughout the American continents and beyond. The only thing standing in the way of this epic tide is the various skymilitias and privateer groups who collect bounties issued by government and law agencies. And Tommy is about to get a huge opportunity to join one such group in one of the most lawless parts of the Western Hemisphere - The Caribbean.

Tommy both dresses and poses just like this. On mountains.

The Caribbean of the Aether Age proves that old-school ship pirates ain't got nothing on skypirates :)

So what is Tommy Thunder? Tommy Thunder, Scourge of the Skypirates is a pulp-style prose series whose Hollywood pitch would be 'Indiana Jones in biplanes set in an alternate universe 1920s America'. If I get my butt in gear the first story should be released some time in the next two months and published for e-readers everywhere on a regular basis after that (hard copies a bit later on when I can work out the technology and a few short stories in the build up to whet people's appetite for the big show. Stay tuned).

Move over G-8. Here comes Tommy Thunder.

And who is Tommy Thunder? Tommy Thunder is the little bloke with big ideas that will take us there.

Stay tuned as in the next few posts I'll be explaining the two biggest sources of inspiration for the Tommy Thunder series, namely the style of writing known as pulp and the subculture known as Dieselpunk. From these two things all else flows, including the music, art and other articles you will see appearing on this blog on a daily basis. If you're at all interested in any of this whacky sounding stuff I hope you'll join me for the rest of the ride. It should be pretty crazy :)

Monday, 28 January 2013

If you're an aviatrix looking for high adventure in the skies of the Caribbean, you have found the right aerodrome. If you happen to be an up-and-coming hood looking for respect on Chicago's jazz-soaked mean streets, this is your speakeasy. If you know that deep down you ache for an age where head wear was not optional and people could play instruments without autotune, this place has you covered. Because this humble looking website is your portal to another world, one a little different from our own...

Welcome to The Aether Age, that infamous era of biplane escadrilles and the barely fettered chaos of Prohibition America. A 1920s America of another timeline, one in which the nation that once was The United States has collapsed in on itself to create a political power vacuum. A power vacuum to be exploited by nefarious robber barons, daring skypirates and cunning underworld figures.

But it is also a world in which the mysterious gas Aether has opened the skies to zeppelin travel. A world of incredible scientific progress as man untethers itself from the ground and looks upwards into the sky, towards fantastic new flying machines and skyscrapers that reach higher and higher into the firmament. A world where the world is globalising and expanding at a simply dizzying pace.

Welcome to The Aether Age and welcome to this new blog. Here I hope you will join me in this little adventure as I attempt to sketch out this crazy new world and the characters who live it. A world brimming with pulpy adventure, two-fisted action and plenty of art-deco class. Fedoras and cloche hats mandatory :)

I hope you can check back on a regular basis. There will be plenty to see.

About The Author

Join me as I embark on my mission to write a pulp series about an alternate timeline 1920s America. An America where the United States has collapsed in on itself to leave the zeppelin-filled skies to nefarious skypirates and the mean gin-soaked streets to fedora-clad gangsters.
There be two-fisted, hair-part flipping action and adventure dead ahead...